If you walk through the center of a northern town in winter and smell a sweet and pungent aroma… you are approaching a pot of mulled wine! What a joy when the “official drink of the Christmas markets”Warms us from within and fills the respiratory tract with its perfume!

Mulled wine, a feast for taste, sight and smell

It has existed since ancient times. It's a party sign, an economic technique of heating, and even ahomemade flu shot. And, without a doubt, it is a classic of outdoor events, from October to February, from Emilia upwards. There is no chestnut, festival, parish or pro loco feast, anniversary of a sports center ... where the “burnt wine” is missing. It is usually served from large pots, to ladles. If there is nothing else, thermos are also needed, but… do you want to add the almost courtly poetry of the perfume that rises from the camp stoves? And the autumn-colored geometry of orange slices, cinnamon sticks, eight-pointed star anise? If you imagine sipping it in an illuminated and decorated square, perhaps with the snow, or in front of the fireplace ... you will immediately understand that it is an elixir that accompanies the joy of the Holidays.

"Patented" by the ancient Romans

That, popularized by the Romans, it reached almost the North Pole, is therefore not a surprise. Of course, the preparation and the ingredients have changed over the course of history and according to latitudes. In ancient times it was called condition paradoxum. Apparently they also knew him the Greeks, but who delivered the recipe to posterity in writing, in Latin, was the first food blogger in history, the Roman Marco Gavio Apicius. In its "Of re co-machinery”Describes it as a wine sweetened with abundant honey, heated several times and flavored with pepper, nard and saffron leaves and enriched with dates. It was offered to distinguished guests at the end of the meal.

mulled wine - from above

Medicine for the poor

In the Middle Ages, the monks who studied herbs and the like prescribed it as remedy for seasonal ailments (effectively, cinnamon is rich in antioxidants, suitable for fighting colds and flu). And you understand: if you are poor peasants, or mountain dwellers, it is cold and someone in the house begins to cough or sneeze ... there is nothing better than to look for wood, light the fire and warm up some homemade wine with spices obtained from the friars, maybe in exchange for a hen.

Variations on the mulled wine theme

Is called mulled wine in the UK, hot wine in France (even if mulled wine means "burnt wine" in French ...), Mulled wine in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, mulled in Scandinavia. Elsewhere it is done with red or white wine (this is also the case in Veneto), sometimes with the addition of rum or cognac, brandy or liqueurs. It is flavored with orange and / or lemon zest, mandarin wedges or apple slices. It is given the aromatic touch with cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel seeds, star anise, cloves, saffron, cardamom or ginger. And the dessert with sugar or honey.
In Italy and in the Alps, mulled wine it is usually done with a Red wine full-bodied or fruity, sugar, cloves, orange, cinnamon and star anise. The recipes are many. Here is one, alpine and traditional.

Mulled wine - flea market
Mulled wine is a must at the Christmas markets, like this one, in Bressanone. Photo: “Bressanone, the Christmas market” by darvina06 is licensed under CC BY 2.0

An Italian recipe

Ingredients: 1 liter of red wine, the zest of one orange and one lemon, 100-150 grams of granulated sugar, 6 cloves, 1-3 star anise, 1-2 cinnamon sticks.
Preparation: Remove the zest from the orange and lemon with a sharp knife (the white part should not be used) and add it to the wine and other ingredients. Heat everything for 10-20 minutes (at least until the sugar is well dissolved) and then leave it to flavor over the heat for another ten minutes, and then filter it. The ideal is to keep it warm in the same cooking container, over a very low flame. What wine to use? According to the region, Sangiovese, Lambrusco, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Nero, Schiava, Nebbiolo, Barbera or Nero d'Avola are excellent. In Val d'Aosta it doesn't matter what wine you make it with… the essential thing is to share it in one cup of friendship or in a grolla.

mulled wine - grolla

How and with what to enjoy mulled wine

La alcohol content depends obviously from the wine used and the boiling time. Above 80 ° the ethanol in the wine evaporates. If you want to eliminate it almost completely, bring a flame to the surface of the wine. The ephemeral blue flames that are consumed indicate the evaporation of alcohol.
The mulled wine will be served and drunk very hot (60-70 °) in a ceramic or tempered glass cup, without forgetting to inhale and savor the ineffable scent of its vapor. For aesthetic reasons, slices of oranges can be added at the end.
The sweets dry and / or chocolate-based are a excellent accompaniment for mulled wine (which children can replace with a nice hot chocolate). In autumn, it marries beautifully with roasted chestnuts or col chestnut.
Mulled wine can be safely stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, just reheat it over low heat, to prevent it from burning, before serving.

Mulled wine, the flavor and aroma of Christmas markets last edit: 2021-12-23T15:30:00+01:00 da Silvano Malini

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